Selected 19th Century American Art Resources:
Mimieux.com History of American Art
American Art from the Revolution to the Civil War 1750 to 1865 at Tigertail Virtual Museum
Artists by Movement: The Hudson River School at Artcyclopedia
Hudson River School, on the PBS "I Hear America Singing" Site
Hudson River School Visions: The Landscapes of Sanford R. Gifford, a Special Exhibition at the Met
Review in Art Critic London of American Sublime, an Art Exhibition at Tate Britain
Sanford R. Gifford's painting, "Hunter Mountain, Twilight," 1866 at AndrewRaff.Com, a note on Gifford's "Hunter Mountain, Twilight," and a New York Times article on the same painting.
Selected Commentaries on 19th Century American Art:
"Nature and the Amerian Identity," from Purple Mountain Majesty: Sublime Nature in the United States Capitol at the Crossroads Project
An article on the Hudson River School of 19th Century American Art: "Sublime and Meticulous," an English review of an exhibition of American art at Tate Briton. The review interprets the art as an expression of the American identity.
An article on Thomas Cole. "Romance and Reality," by Philip G. Terrie.
An Excerpt from Thomas Cole's "Essay on American Scenery," in Thomas Cole, The Collected Essays and Prose Sketches, edited by Marshall Tymn, p. 6):
In this age, when a meagre utilitarianism seems ready to absorb every feeling and sentiment, and what is sometimes called improvement in its march makes us fear that the bright and tender flowers of the imagination shall all be crushed beneath its iron tramp, it would be well to cultivate the oasis that yet remains to us, and thus preserve the germs of a future and a purer system. And now, when the sway of a fashion is extending widely over society--poisoning the healthful streams of pure refinement, and turning men from the love of simplicity and beauty, to a senseless idolatry of their own follies--to lead them gently into the pleasant paths of Taste would be an object worthy of the highest efforts of genius and benevolence. The spirit of our society is to contrive but not to enjoy--toiling to produce more toil--accumulating in order to aggrandize. The pleasures of the imagination, among which the love of scenery holds a conspicuous place, will alone temper the harshness of such a state; and, like the atmosphere that softens the most rugged forms of the landscape, cast a veil of tender beauty over the asperities of life.
A William Cullins Bryant Poem (written when Cole was about to leve America for three years of study in Europe):
TO COLE, THE PAINTER, DEPARTING FOR EUROPE Thine eyes shall see the light of distant skies; Yet, COLE! thy heart shall bear to Europe's strand
A living image of our own bright land,
Such as upon thy glorious canvas lies;
Lone Lakes--savannas where the bison roves-- Rocks rich with summer garlands--solemn streams--
Skies, where the desert eagle wheels and screams--
Spring bloom and autumn blaze of boundless groves.
Fair scenes shall greet thee where thou goest--fair, But different--everywhere the trace of men,
Paths, homes, graves, ruins, from the lowest glen
To where life shrinks from the fierce Alpine air. Gaze on them, till the tears shall dim thy sight,
But keep that earlier, wilder image bright. (1829, 1832
Workshop Activities:
1. Go to the Thomas Cole Artworks list at The Athenaeum. Read the lsit of titles and view a sampling of the artworks. What are the major themes or subjects of these works? Then choose one work that treats a European subject and one that depicts an American scene and look closely at the two paintings. In what ways are they similar or different?
2. Take a close look at Thomas Cole's famous series of paintings, "The Course of Empire." Think about the attitudes these paintings suggest about the relationship between nature and civilization. Does this series of paintings constitute any kind of commentary on the role of each in defining the American identity and/or the relationship between the two?
3. Read the exzcerpt from Cole. How does that contribute to your understanding of Cole's paintins and his goals as a painter? Then read the poem by Bryant. What did he seem to be trying to say to Cole, and why do you think he bothered?